The internet has revolutionized the way we obtain and process information. Most of this change has been happening in the virtual world, online. With the advent of Internet 2.0, the interaction between users and the internet is now deeper and more comprehensive than earlier.

The exponential use of social media and other user-created content is changing the way we interact with one another in the online world. However, thus far the physical world around us has been impervious to the internet. But this is set to change with new Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

IoT refers to the extension of internet connectivity to everyday objects around us so that they generate useful data as they work. This data can be mined later to detect useful patterns that can help increase efficiency. Traffic management is one field in which IoT can help to reduce accidents and improve traffic flows.

Traditional traffic signals are designed to flash lights according to pre-set criteria. But smart traffic signal lights of the future would be fitted with sensors to detect traffic and pedestrian movement. By using algorithms, the traffic lights would change as per the movements in its surroundings. This information could also be wirelessly transmitted to a central coordination centre for traffic controllers to modify the traffic light patterns.

Sensors for safety

Bluetooth beacon technology could help drivers detect information about their surroundings and other vehicles. These beacons could be mounted on traffic lights, road signs and other infrastructure found near roads. Short range radios fitted into vehicles are also another method by which smart sensors could detect if cars or other vehicles were getting dangerously close to other cars or the footpath or other pedestrian-only areas.

On the Radar

It might not always be practical to set up sensors across vast roadway networks to reduce accidents and improve safety. In such scenarios, older technology like radar could be combined innovatively with the latest IoT technology to improve traffic management and safety. Cars could utilize radar even in remote and climatically inhospitable settings to detect nearby cars. This information could be transmitted to a central network for analysis using an IoT application.

IoT presents an exciting new era in which traffic is managed better and accidents reduced. Traffic management is better achieved through new and imaginative solutions for traffic management across diverse settings.

In a definition by Tech Target, it is stated that cloud storage is a service model in which data is maintained, managed, backed up remotely and made available to users over a network (typically the Internet). In this article, we are going to tell you about two main cloud-based storage architecture models which are the public and private. We are going to learn more about their pros and cons as well.

One cloud storage vendor is Hitachi ICT Private Cloud. They identify and suggest opportunities for you to improve your business via cloud solutions, then supervise the migration with utmost care. If you are looking for private cloud storage solutions Singapore, you should definitely check them out.

Ben Snedeker, in his article, will tell us about the pros and cons of public and private clouds for small business.

The Pros and Cons of Public and Private Clouds for Small Business

Every day, more and more small businesses face the question of turning to cloud solutions for their data. In fact, Intuit predicts that by 2020, 80 percent of small businesses will be fully adapted to cloud computing. And as more businesses move to the cloud to handle data storage, computing, and IT security, the shift has a potential to be disruptive to the way small businesses conduct business. While you want to stay ahead of the curve, the question remains: Which solution is right for your business?

According to Rackspace, the difference between public and private clouds is this:

Public clouds are “based on shared physical hardware which is owned and operated by a third-party provider” where the infrastructure is shared by many clients. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud are examples of public clouds. Some of the most common real-world examples of public cloud services include services like cloud-based server hosting, storage services, webmail, and online office applications. Read more here.

For the examples of the benefits, ease of scalability is for public cloud and a higher level of security is for the private cloud. For the disadvantages, security is for public cloud and a higher initial outlay is for the private cloud.

In the next part, we are going to focus on the private cloud Dennis McCaffertywill give us more of the pros and cons of the private cloud.

Pros and Cons of the Private Cloud

Nearly one-half of organizations have launched private clouds, according to industry research. And among those which have done so, roughly two-thirds say they’ve been successful in their efforts. Still, there are even more companies which are going the public cloud route—nearly nine of 10, in fact. Clearly, there are choices to be made. (And those choices may include both. Many businesses practice what’s called “cloud bursting,” in which applications in a private cloud migrate to the public one once demand for app availability surges beyond the capacity of the private version.) To help CIOs pursue a balanced assessment, we’re providing the following list of pros and cons of private cloud adoption. They cover everything from security to availability to support to scalability to operations control. (And you may be interested to know how the private cloud can impact the mobile user experience, given the dominance of BYOD practices today.) Our list was adapted from a number of online resources, including those posted by Dell and Infusionsoft. Read more here.

One advantage given is the business app availability which means that workers can have access of the data anytime. For the disadvantages, one is that you will have to spend more for the initial investments when compared to a public cloud. Now that we’re done with the private cloud, let us now talk about public cloud. Salvage Data will tell us about its pros and cons.

Public Cloud Storage: The Pros and Cons

Public Cloud Storage

Information remains invaluable since the dawn of time. As time progresses and new internet technologies are created, the need to access information has never been as paramount as it is right now. That is why advances in storage solutions are such a huge thing. Even though our hard drives and storage media can handle a tremendous amount of data, people are opting for a way to access this information on the go. This is the reason why public cloud storage was created.
In the simplest terms, cloud storage is storing data online to be accessed from any device, in any location, given there is an internet connection. Cloud storage is subdivided into several groups. These are:
• Personal/mobile cloud storage
• The publicly available cloud storage
• The privately available cloud storage
• The hybrid cloud storage.Read more here.

For public storage, you will really be able to save more on your costs because according to the article, you will only have to spend on the subscription fees which are just minimal. Now the only disadvantage given for public storage is data security. According to the article, due to the multi-tenancy support, there are vulnerabilities that can be exploited to reach other people’s data. Well that is really a concern that must be considered.

Now that the advantages and disadvantages for public and private clouds are mentioned, you can now weigh the differences and choose what really best fits your company or your organization.

It is the goal of every business to make more profit, grow and reach new heights. Most of the time, business owners focus on ways they can improve their product and services with a goal of maximising profits. To spice things up, a business organization has to focus on customer satisfaction.

One of the most frustrating times for a customer is waiting on a very long queue until they are attended to. Many businesses have experienced a decline in their profit because they haven’t been able to improve their customer’s satisfaction in the area of crowd management.

On the other hand, businesses who have given preferences to reducing their customer waiting time has reached new height in the areas of profit and customer satisfaction.

In this article, we are going to discuss how queuing and crowd control can be of benefit to your business.

Customer satisfaction

Businesses who have invested in strategies to reduce waiting time are having higher ratings. What this means is that you will make more money, and your business will thrive and reach new heights in no time.

An effective strategy some businesses have used to manage crowd is the one line queue. What this involves is the use of only one queue with more checkout station, this approach reduced the waiting time, and in turn customers were attended to quickly.

There are a lot of things businesses are doing right now to leave a lasting impression on the minds of their customers. To do this they go to great length to improve their design and make their customers more relaxed when they are shopping. But it might surprise you to know that the customers take their assessment when they are about to check out. You can use this information to your advantage by making sure that your customer doesn’t have to wait too long before they are attended. Also, you need to make sure that your staffs in your checkout stations are friendly.

Make them feel at ease

Generally, people are always thinking about the next move they should take in order to improve their life, business, family and many other things.

As a business owner, you don’t want to add to the woes of your customer. So what you have to do therefore is to figure out the best way to make your customers feel more at ease and comfortable. Ensure that your staffs are polite and professional. If you observe that some of your staff are not meeting up you can choose to train them or let them go.

Another thing you could do to make your customer be more comfortable is to anticipate their next move. You can do this by thinking about their frustration and problems and finding strategic ways to make things easier for them. If you do this, they will be grateful and become loyal costumers in the long run.

Brand

Making sure that the area you have allocated for queuing is clean and orderly. Doing this will create a strong impression in the mind of your customer that you have strong values. Also, you have to ensure that your customer service agent looks neat and presentable. If you are able to pull this off consistently, you will be sending a strong message about your brand as well as the values of your business.

Even more, you can brand your equipment in your workplace with your company’s logo with the aim of publicising your brand.

If you apply the tips stated in this article your business will reach new heights and your customers will be happy.

A point of sale or POS system is the key to if a business is successful or not. Even though many factors like the point of sales software, the features, limitations, and cost are important, many business owners overlook the most critical part of a POS system, which is its security.

POS security is complex, and there are huge updates that happen regularly. Business owners have to deal with POS security because the benefits of accepting credit cards are so high. To help you understand POS security, here are some tips from experts to secure your POS system.

1. Make sure that the POS is PCI Compliant

When you are looking for a POS, you should make sure that it meets all the required regulations for accepting major credit cards. There are changing regulations and requirements that occur regularly.

Most of the updates to the regulations are to protect your customers information. This makes it very important that you are updating your POS system to make sure that all the data your business gathers is safe. If any information is leaked, you will be responsible for the damages caused by the leaks.

2. Update Your POS Software

It can be very tempting to avoid having to take the time to update all of your devices with the latest software. However, you should make sure that all your devices have the latest versions installed. Using outdated software places your businesss and customers information at risk. Most updates only take a few minutes and can be done on individual devices. This can help your business to run efficiently, even when updates are being done.

3. Use Encryption Tools

Security has become a growing issue with electronic payments. You should make sure that you are using an encryption tool to protect the information that your business collects. Some software will come with an encryption tool built-in, but you should be using your own. Encryption protects data by changing its form to make it unreadable unless you have the cryptographic key.

4. Isolate the POS System

Many small and medium businesses have their POS software connected with other business technologies. This is horrible idea because a hacker could steal all your businesss data by hacking your POS systems. Many times, POS systems are the weakest link in the chain because they are exposed to the public. Hackers have been using their smartphones to steal information or implant programs to gather information on POS for the last few years.

This is why you need to have your POS system isolated from the rest of your technology. The more isolated that you can have the system, the better. The best option is to have restricted data flow from the POS system if it needs to be on the same network as other technology your business uses.

A POS system is necessary even if you want to accept credit and debit cards. They can offer a huge amount of benefits to all sizes of businesses, but their software can be complex especially when it involves their security programs.

For a business to be successful, its various units need to function cohesively to deliver even though everyone has different tasks. For example, marketing and sales departments of a product are interlinked. When a product is being manufactured, one has to keep in mind that the sales and marketing teams are closely interlinked as due to lack of proper marketing the sales of a product would fall and often the rate of sales can show how well a product has been marketed before its launch in the market.

If you are looking for software providers, one such SAP provider is Hitachi ICT. They provide SAP services and have over 2,000 consultants to highlight and narrow down what kind of software your company needs. They also liaise with your team regularly, so you can be assured that adopting new software is safe and secure. Do check out Hitachi ICT SAP partner for your business here: http://www.hitachi.com.sg/ict-solutions/solutions/business-application/sap-practice/

There are some departments that do client facing jobs and directly generate revenue. They are looking after the external aspect of the business. But for these external processes to run smoothly, there has to be a cohesive functioning of the internal processes. These internal teams or departments are equally important, as if there is tension and grievance amongst employees then it will affect their work and will in turn hamper the quality of the deliverable.

The human resource department is one such internal department looks into the talent acquisition process in a company. Talent acquisition and recruitment are not the same. Recruitment is mechanical, it is all about filling up vacant positions, whereas talent acquisition is about making use of the right candidates and their talent to fill up positions and thereby follow the same rigorous recruitment process for the future. But talent acquisition is not easy. For proper acquisition of talent, one has to have a clarity regarding the future management of the business and analyse the past history of attrition. This will greatly influence talent acquisition.

ERP invasion:

ERP or in an expanded form, Enterprise Resource Planning is a type of software. It uses modular systems to plan an integrated management system. This is done by coordinating various business processes. Over the past few years, various ERP software hase been used for processes like human resource management, payroll, operations, project management and accounting.

ERP software has been greatly applied in the human resource department for talent management. For this many ERP software vendors have coordinated with businesses all across the world in order to ensure that the correct talent is hired.

In conclusion, your business should definitely take up ERP software in order to compete and streamline your operations well. This will allow you to managed many aspects of your company, when you do not have the manpower or resources to manage them yourself.

Now, the first thing that you need to understand is that Singapore is amongst the most challenging cities in the entire world to start and develop a brand new business. While its also amongst the most rapidly developing point in the entire world, the competition is absolutely fierce in almost every single industry. This is something which every current or future business owner should take into proper consideration.

With this in mind, it is obviously essential that you need to take advantage of whatever it is you can in order to ensure that you stand on top of your competition. As we live in a very dynamic and constantly changing environment, technology is something that you want to master. If you are a retail business owner, then youve managed to stumble upon the right place.

Retail POS What Is It?

POS stands for point of sale, and this is a comprehensive implantation which is going to provide you with a tremendous amount of convenient advantages for your retail business. Basically, you can look at this as software platform which will enable you to take advantage of seamless transactions, comprehensive and visible inventory traceability alongside perfect management of every single retail process. It will also provide you with actionable customer intelligence alongside real-time data which is easily synthesized in order to alter and amend currently employed strategies into ones which are far more effective.

The reasons are numerous. POS for retail could be a game changer if it used in the proper manner. The best thing you can do is to thoroughly on-board your employees. This is going to ensure that your customer satisfaction grows tremendously. This is due to the fact that your own employees will be capable of servicing them in a way which is far better and a lot more acceptable.

Is It hard to Use?

Konverge POS for retail is amongst the most seamless platforms to take advantage of. Once you are through with some of the basics, everything else is pretty much intuitive, and it shouldnt take you or any of your employees a substantial amount to learn to use it properly. This is something that you might want to take into consideration.

In any case, the important thing that you need to understand is that integrating this particular system is going to provide you with the much-needed edge over anyone else who doesnt have it. Its going to enhance the relationships between you and your customers, and this is certainly going to have a very positive impact on your business. Proper POS usage and integration are guaranteed to ensure that everything is handled as per the highest industry standards. This will undoubtedly reflect on your business in a highly beneficial and impactful manner that you might want to take into absolute consideration. This is definitely a platform to take advantage of.

The popularity of self-service interactive e kiosks has been increased by leaps and bounds. These kiosks come with touch screens and are widely used in the retail sector in the last few years. It has been possible due to the advancement in technology. The best part is that the acceptability of these interactive e kiosks took a much shorter timeas compared to ATMs, which took over two decades and mobile phones, which took around a decade.

One of the reasons for the fast adoption could be because customers today look out for more interactive features and the liberty to make choices while making purchases. Thus, a large number of businesses in the retail sector are considering adopting similar technologies as part of their regular operations.

These touch screen kiosks are both interactive and intuitive in nature, making them a widely accepted technological tool in the retail sector. Today, customers who are used to making online purchases will be at ease while operating these kiosks, instead of waiting in a long queue to making their payments or interact with the store employees face-to-face.

Interactive kiosks can lower costs

The kiosks can act as a substitute for employees. There is no scenario of employees taking sick leaves or going away for holidays. Companies do not have to pay monthly remunerations since the machine does the job of an employee.

The kiosks can enhance the efficiency

Unlike your employees, the kiosks need not go for coffee or lunch breaks. They can go on providing the same quality of services twenty-four hours a day and on all days of a year. The kiosks will not get bored doing repetitive and routine tasks like replying to queries or providing relevant information so that the employees can shift their focus to more important jobs.

Improve level of customer service

A large variety of functionalities can be performed by these interactive e kiosks such as processing registrations, on-demand tasks and providing necessary information. Such multi-functional features are implemented easily through these high-tech devices, leading to improved customer satisfaction and improved customer service.

Improvement in customers’ purchasing experience

Since these kiosks are able to provide improved customer service, the buying experience of the customers also goes up.

Use of interactive e kiosks also increase sales

A big benefit of the use of e kiosks is the impact they have in increasing the sales in the retail industry through touch screens that are highly interactive in nature. A study has observed that about 60 percent of the customers who shop for different products have no clue what they are purchasing when they first enter a physical shop.

The last few years have witnessed significant changes to software for business management. Many companies have regarded the accounting software as a necessity. However, there are more and more businesses opting for ERP software instead. In fact, it has been observed that many users use the terms ERP and ERP accounting software interchangeably. But, when you know the key differences between the two, it will become easy for you to compare and contrast both.

Functionality of ERP software and accounting software

If you want to understand the differences between ERP software and accounting software, you need to understand the functionality offered by each of them. As the name indicates, accounting software is equipped to handle accounting transactions like trial balances, accounts payable, accounts receivable and payroll. There are some common modules that are typically clubbed with the accounting software like electronic payment, expense, time sheet, general ledger, purchase order, sales order, and billing.

There is no doubt that the accounting software has some similarity with the ERP functionality, but the two are slightly distinct from one another. ERP software is a system for resource management that tracks intangible and tangible assets, financial resources, human resources, and materials. On the other hand, the accounting software can be regarded as a subset of the former.

The example of the Dynamics GP modules from Microsoft can be cited as an example in this case. This Microsoft suite provides financial services like financial budgeting, planning, and management. Until a decade back, this collection would be called accounting software, but the scenario has changed now as it can have an interface with several other modules. As far as the Dynamics GP software from Microsoft is concerned, it can coordinate and manage business operations such as IT management, Human Resources, reporting and analysis, Supply Chain Management and projects as services.

While ERP software and ERP accounting software are two distinct things, the big question is does it really matter in today’s business environment? The last few years have witnessed several vendors of accounting packages end their operations or were merged with larger vendors. As several ERP platforms offer similar accounting functionality, why should you opt for a conventional accounting software bundle?

Accounting software is fading away

The key reason why both ERP software and ERP accounting software are often being used interchangeably in the market is the latter is slowly fading away. There are a lot of possibilities that the two applications will not exist in the market simultaneously in the present or in the future. So, addressing ERP as accounting software is not likely to trigger confusion.

SAP AG, which has almost practically captured the entire market with its ERP software, is the body that conducts the SAP certification exam. The certification course is an expensive one and therefore there is a good deal of investment that you may do on yourself or your company does on the individual. In a fast paced IT environment, SAP certification with the ERP software happens to be one of the most sought and desired certification course. Let’s quickly glance through as to why this is a globally wanted certification course:

Individual benefits:

Reputation – SAP certified consultants hold a great reputation in the market. The reputation that these individuals enjoy from their friends, family, colleagues and employers is completely different and most commendable.

Self-respect – SAP certification gives a boost to the self-confidence of having achieved an important career landmark. Recognition and increased reputation makes the person stronger and gives a sense of increased responsibility.

Career Prospects – The market offers good pay and good jobs to SAP certified people. The certification serves as one of the important milestones in accomplishing a promising future as the certification is globally recognized.

Promotion – Tge IT industry changes very fast and therefore recognition and promotion are two important retaining factors. An SAP certified individual is seen to have more prospects of getting promoted. These days, companies are also coming forward and encouraging their employees to get SAP certified, which is also been seen as an effective retention strategy.

Organizational benefits:

Alignment Improvement – SAP certified employees are able to align the individual deliverables to meet the organization’s plans and strategy. These individuals are able to identify and analyze the correct data proactively and propose solutions. The entire process is able to effectively align the workforce and organizational goals to achieve corporate objectives.

SAP Training Modules –

HCM – Usually an HR representative undertakes SAP HCM certification. An HR representative who is SAP HCM certified is able to effectively manage payroll, recruitment, ESS, personnel administration, organizational management and organizational reports. Such a qualified HR will be able to manage work in a better way.

BI – The SAP Business Intelligence module deals with Warehouse management. An individual who is BI certified will be able to pull out data from different sources and can analyze and present this data as maps, grids or graphs.

SD – Sales and distribution module of SAP helps in managing order and cash transactions. A person who is certified in this module is able to apply for a role, which includes pricing, billing, credit or sales processes. The organization can benefit hiring such an individual, as s/he can be an asset to provide inputs for various roles.

The e-commerce industry has been at a boon for quite some time now, with many companies currently engaging their focus on sustaining and increasing investments. Almost all of the data of the e-commerce businesses is stored in data form. Inventory management in e-commerce is of utmost importance as any delays or unavailability of products can severely impact customer retention. It is therefore necessary that the IT services be managed by professionals in the e-commerce setup. Here are some points that will further clarify the importance of IT systems and outsourcing solutions of these processes:

Smarter working ways – IT outsourcing companies specialize in their respective field, which means that they will be more flexible to scale up their services. These companies know how to customize their services to meet the requirements of their clients.

Subject Matter Experts – These companies have some of the best talent in the industry so when you outsource your services to them, you can be assured that the best people are working for you and that you are getting the best results.

Cost effective – E-commerce businesses have usually defined their core processes vs non-core ones. It is therefore important to save cost like managing office space, recruiting manpower, computer cost, data backup costs and many other hidden expenses. Outsourcing IT solutions relieves the e-commerce business from managing all these hassles, which gives them time to focus on their core processes.

Risk Mitigation – Business environments change fast and so do the risks. Government regulations, financial conditions, technology, market trends and competitors are some the factors influencing the e-commerce businesses. Outsourcing of IT services ensures that your company is compliant to regulations and that your data is secure. These outsourcing setups are able to assess the risk well in advance and act accordingly to mitigate any potential impact to e-commerce companies.

Latest technology is easily accessible – In order to provide high performing services, these outsourcing companies must keep up with the change in technology. Having the right technology means that these IT infrastructure services are able to offer quicker and faster services to their clients. Outsourcing IT solutions will not only save the cost of maintaining this cost internally but also ensures that your service provider is giving you the best results and is working on the latest technological platform.

Standing in a long line, waiting for your turn can take the Mickey out of anyone. The fact is that whether we like it or not, this is a part of life unless of course, you are someone who knows people in high places! The bank queue system designed by ATT Systems is a software program that holds an item in a line up while processing other requests. This program works well in the banking industry in dealing with a single line and multiple lines. Using this technology in a bank ensures that customers have wide dependable choices without wasting time.

To meet the needs of the banking industry and in providing customer satisfaction, the intelligent queue system provides a decent performance and efficiency. For instance, depending on the importance of the query, the customer goes up the line faster. The mode of managing the queues are interactive and does away with long lines with the use of technology. By using Smartphone technology, customers need not wait it out for the matter to get sorted out – the banking system provides the solution. The system is designed to give the caller or the visitor a quick solution in a workable time frame.

Gone are the days when customers had to call the banks and wait for ages for an employee to pick up and answer queries. The automated bank queue system is so convenient because it answers the call immediately. Customers have a couple of options to choose from and move up the queue depending on the volume of people on the wait list of course. The advantage of using a system meant to make your life easier is that it does. Competition is fierce with big brands advertising enticing customers with innovative ideas. Once a customer is happy, you can bet that they will find this queue system advantageous and stick with a bank that provides solutions.

The interactive voice response also informs the customer about her/his position in the queue. For instance, you do not need to order in a new cheque book at the bank. You can do so online or call in and punch in the number allotted and the book arrives at your address in the time stipulated by the bank. The intelligence of the software improves the operational efficiency of the bank thereby making it extremely viable for customers both online and offline. Using this methodology, prospective customers can provide their valuable feedback about the success of the product and service.